Last update 26 June, 2023 by Alberto Llopis
It was certainly one of the best south american footballers of all time: Teofilo Cubillas. That attacking midfielder years 70 y 80 who amazed the world with his excellent free kicks and who managed to lead Peru to win the Copa América del 75 and play two quarters of World Cup final.
Born in 1949 north of Lima, he “Baby”, nickname by which he was known, soon he highlighted with the ball at his feet. His first club was the child Huracan Boys, set your neighborhood with which he managed to excel to the point of being hired for the lower echelons of one of the great teams of the city, he Alianza Lima.
With just 17 years, Theophilus made his debut in first division. He could not be luckier. First season in the elite top scorer in the Peruvian league 19 many. A harbinger of the legend that would become. The good work in its first year would be worth the call with the Peruvian team to the playoffs classification World Mexico 70, appointment that would be presented with only 21 years.
Teofilo Cubillas, history of Peru in the World Cups
In the Aztec country, Buckets It would definitely make known, with a starring role in a team that would reach quarterfinals. Five goals in four games would be the calling card of a player who gathered talent, power with a huge torn, an innate ability with the ball and professional sniper accuracy both be happy medium and long distance. But mostly goal, long shot.
All of this, joined colleagues who are not keeping up at all, because beside the members was black roll Alliance (Zegarra Pitin, Baylon Périco the Lion) o Hugo Sotil, The other big star of the selection. In such a context, Only the Brazil's Pele would be able to get off the car to Peruvians for a spectacular 4-2. O Rei already warned of the danger of Cubillas, with a premonitory phrase: “do not worry, and I have successor in Teofilo Cubillas”.
However, his brilliant role in the Mexican country was not in vain for European scouts who decided to invite a combination of players and Deportivo Municipal Alliance for European tours. Over there, the “oro double” formed by Sotil and Cubillas encandilaría the old continent with exhibits still remembered as the 4-1 before him Bayern de Munich, where even the great Frank Beckhenbauer would be ridiculed based sewers, dribbles and feints. And of course, goals.
His spectacular performance earned him to be considered second best player in South America, behind Pele 1972, when only he had 23 years. This eventually led to him being signed by the Basel Swiss where in just six months could be the Swiss Super League.
In Europe he triumphed with Porto
However the Swiss club performance earned him to be signed by the Port, club where he stayed three and a half years, and where it would become an icon for hobby. 65 goals in 108 parties that won him to win a Portuguese Cup and several subchampionships, that had it not coincided with Benfica great Eusebio would have meant titles.
In Porto would be the best years of Cubillas, that also in 1975 achieve a milestone: lift your selection Copa America. Brazil in semifinals (a goal anthological dry folha) and Colombia in the final would be the victims of a tournament that time was played over two legs without fixed base.
Argentina 78 and the stain of Peru
In 1977, the nostalgia of “baby” patent and it would return to his lifelong club, the Alliance, with which won the league that year and 78. Precisely, that last year would be the best Cubillas great in a great quote, Argentina's World Cup 78, where Peru come back to quarterfinals, It is defeated by Argentina in the controversial 6-0 the possible bribery.
In that tournament, Cubillas legend would one goal in a match of the first phase against Scotland. A masterful shot with the outside that appears in all the manuals on how to score a goal from a free kick. That would be the last year at the highest level of the “baby”, he would leave his Alliance to play in the American League, where he managed to be the tournament's top scorer and leave an amazing hattrick for history in just 7 minutes.
End of career
After playing the World Cup in Spain with a very low profile and after several comings and goings of your alliance and LFS, in 1988 Teofilo Cubillas said goodbye. In his resume, the title of top scorer selection, the seventh leading scorer in World Cups and one of the 50 best footballers of all time according to FIFA.
Shows off, To round the curious brand of never having been booked, and only receiving a yellow card in its 19 years of career. Besides, the unanimous recognition of being the midfielder's goal of all who have existed on the planet.